Space heater



P. E. MAURICE July 3, 1962 SPACE HEATER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 16, 1960 IINVENTOR. Fin/L MAME/CG W 6 ?ZMZ u JII F. E. MAURICE July 3, 1962 SPACE HEATER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 16, 1960 INVEN TOR. PAUL Z. MAL/R/cc BY m 4TroRN Y5 United States Patent Office 3,942,020 Patented July 3, 1962 3,942,020 SPACE IEATER Paul E. Maurice, Ludlow, Mass assiguor to Heathath Manufacturing Company, Inc, lndian Orchard, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 16, 1960, Ser. No. 56,462 Claims. (Cl. 126-110) The present invention reiates to improvements in space heaters which are employed to heat single rooms or relatively localized areas and more generally to duct structure and deflector means for directing a discharge flow of air as from a room space heater.

An object of the invention is to provide means for more effectively discharging heated air from a space heater into the area which is to be heated.

Another object of the invention is to accomplish the above end in a simple and economical fashion.

The present invention is characterized by a space heater having an internal, vertical duct open at its upper end. Means are provided for drawing heated air downwardly through this duct and discharging the heated air beneath the heater and towards the front of the heater in order to insure that the lower regions of the room or area will be effectively heated. Deflector means are provided for selectively varying the lateral direction of flow of the air so that heat may be concentrated in desired areas.

The above and other related objects and features of the invention will be apparent from a reading of the following description of the disclosure found in the accompanying drawings and the novelty thereof pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a space heater embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken generally on line II-II in FIG. 1;

PEG. 3 is a section taken generally on line IlIIH in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a section taken on line lVIV in FIG. 2.

The present space heater comprises a sheet metal shell (Fl-GS. 1-3) formed by a top panel 13*, a base panel 12, a front panel 14, a back panel 16, and end panels 18 and 2%. This sheet metal shell is supported by legs 22 underlying and secured to the base panel 12. The base panel 22 and back panel lid in effect comprise part of a frame member 21 which supports the various components of the space heater. The frame member 21 also includes an end plate 23 (FIG. 3), a divider plate 25 and a gusset 27'. The top panel 1%, front panel 14 and end panels 13 and 2d comprise a protective and decorative cabinet which covers the heater unit and controls therefor employed in the space heater. One or more of the panels forming the cabinet, and particularly the front panel 14 are preferably of open-work construction to permit heat to radiate and be carried by convection into the area to be heated. For this same reason it is also preferable that the top panel ll? will be of an open-work construction such as a perforated or slotted metal screen.

The heater unit (FIGS. 2 and 3) for the space heater comprises a burner 2 and a fire box 26. The burner 24 is mounted on the the box 26 while the fire box is mounted on the frame member 21. More particularly legs support the front portion of the fire box 26 on the base plate 12 while a discharge pipe 359 projects from the tire box and through an opening in the back panel 16 to support the rear or back side of the fire box. The gases of combustion of the burner 24- follow a tortuous path through the tire box 26 to obtain maximum heating of the walls of the fire box and consequent transmission of heat by the space heater into the area to be heated. Gas is supplied to the burner 24 from a suitable source of supply and a control unit (not shown) is disposed behind a door 34- in the front panel 14 to control flow of fuel to the burner 24 in a conventional or known fashion.

A duct 3-5 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is formed interiorly of the sheet metal shell of the space heater in part by the back panel 16 and in part by a sheet metal member 38 which is Welded thereto and forms the front and side wails of the internal duct. It will be noted that the rear wall of the fire box 26 lies in a vertical plane paralleling the back panel 1d and that the front wall of the duct is about as wide as the rear wall of the fire box 26 and clearly spaced therefrom. Further, it will be noted that the sheet metal member 3% terminates just below the pipe 30 to define the upper end of the duct 35. Additionally, it will be seen that the member 36 extends to and forms a substantially air-tight seal with the base panel to define the closed lower end of the duct 36.

An opening 4! is formed in the back panel 16 and enters into the duct 35 adjacent its lower end. A rotary or squirrel-cage blower 42 is mounted on the back panel 16 with its inlet disposed centrally of the hole 4d. The discharge conduit 44 (FIG. 2) of the blower 42 projects downwardly and is telescoped into a second duct as which directs heated air beneath the base panel 12 towards the front of the space heater. The duct 46 comprises a U-shaped piece 48 (see also FIG. 4) and a lower plate 5% closing otf the bottom of the U-shaped piece 43 and curved to conduct heated air towards the front of the space heater. The U-shaped piece 48 is welded to the upstanding portion of an L-shaped sheet metal panel member 52 and the plate 50 is welded to the U-shaped piece 48 and the member 52 as well. The panel member 52 is secured by screws at 54 (FIG. 1) to the back panel 16, and underlies the base panel 12 and forming in conjunction therewith a continuation of the duct 46 to insure more effective discharge of the heated air towards the front of the space heater.

Mounted on the horizontal portion of the sheet metal member 52 is a vaned deflector plate 56 (FIGS. 2 and 4) having upturned sides 58 diverging from the duct 46 and a middle deflector vane 60 which in the full line position of FIG. 4 is disposed centrally of the duct 46. It will be noted that the inner ends of the side vanes 58 are outwardly of the outlet duct 46 While thecentral vane 60 projects into the duct 46. The plate 56 and vane 6i are pivotally mounted relative to the sheet metal member 52 at 61. A handle 62 is Welded to and forms an extension of the deflector vane 60. The handle 62 is thus readily accessible from the front of the space heater for manual manipulation to dispose the plate 56 at whatever angle is desired to obtain a desired directional fiow of heated air,

, as indicated by the phantom showing in FIG. 4. It will be noted that the inner edge of each side vane 58 when the deflector is swung to an extreme position against its adjacent upright portion of the member 52 provides a stop to limit the angular swing of the center vane deflector 60. Thus the member 56 and deflector 60 act after the fashion of a valve to prevent flow of heated air towards one side of the other of the space heater and to direct flow in divided fashion in the intermediate positions. The largest possible heat deflection is thus accomplished without an excessive loss in velocity or volume of heated air.

The described arrangement has been found highly effective in obtaining a maximum transfer of heat and converting the heat produced by burner 24 into usable energy for heating the area in which the space heater is installed. Further, the described and preferable formation of the ducts employed for this purpose has been foundextremely economical, the outlet formed by the pan 52 and deflector vane providing a selected directional flow of heated air as desired.

It may also be noted that at each end of the horizontal panel portion '(FIGS. 1 and 4) of panel member 52 that no upstanding flange portions are present. Accordingly, a considerable amount of air at room temperature will be entrained or drawn over these end edges from behind the heater to mix along with the hot combustion chamber air blown from the duct 46 by the fan. Thus the flow past the edges of the panel is in most respects a mixture enabling a more efficient circulation of air at a more even temperature within the space of a room which is being heated by the unit.

The blower 42 is a commercially available item and is connected to a suitable source of electric current in accordance with practices well known in the art. The particular type of heating unit employed is of no particular consequence at least insofar as the broader concepts of the present invention are concerned. There are, however, advantages to be derived from the described relation between the fire box 26 and duct 36.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as novel and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. -In a space heater comprising a substantially closed shell formed by top and base panels, front and rear panels and end panels, and having a heater unit mounted in said shell; a vertical duct disposed interiorly of said shell and formed in part by said back panel, said back panel having an opening for communication with said duct adjacent its lower end, a blower mounted on said back panel with an intake passage communicating with said opening, a second duct having a discharge opening facing the front of the space heater and directed beneath said base panel, said second duct .being connected to the discharge side of said blower, an L-shaped member having its vertical portion secured to said back panel and its horizontal portion underlying and spaced from said base panel, said horizontal portion forming an extension of said second duct and having a horizontal baffle plate pivotally mounted thereon, said baflie plate having a central vertical vane extending into said second 'duct and a pair of vertical side vanes spaced on each side of the central vane and outwardly directed from their inner edges with relation to said central vane.

2. A space heater comprising a substantially closed shell formed by top and base panels, front and rear panels and end panels, and having a heater unit mounted in said shell, said heater unit comprising a fire box and a burner mounted for the passage of gases of combustion through said fire box, said fire box having a rear wall parallel to and spaced from said back panel, a vertical duct disposed interiorly of said shell and open at its upper end and closed at its lower end, said duct being formed in part by said back panel and in part by a member parallel to and.

secured to said back panel, said duct-forming member being parallel to the rear wall of the fire box for a substantial portion of the width thereof and spaced therefrom, said back panel having an opening therein adjacent the lower end of said duct, a blower mounted on said back panel with its intake side communicating with said opening, a second duct having a discharge opening facing the front of the space heater and directed beneath said base panel, said second duct being connected to the discharge side of said blower, an L-shaped member having its vertical portion secured to said back panel and its horizontal portion underlying and spaced from said base panel, said horizontal portion forming an extension of said second duct, and a baffle plate pivotally mounted on the horizontal portion of said L-shaped member, said 'baffle plate having a pair of spaced side vanes diverging heated air in a desired direction.

3. In a space heater comprising a shell having rear and bottom wall panels and a heater unit mounted in the shell, means for drawing heated air adjacent the rear wall from the shell interior and directing said air forwardly underneath the shell, said means comprising a discharge duct at the rear wall opening towards the front of the space heater under the bottom wall panel of said shell, a horizontal panel plate disposed beneath said bottom panel and spaced therefrom,.said panel plate forming an enlarged continuation of the lower wall surface of said duct, and an'air directing member mounted for pivotal movement on said horizontal plate having a vertically disposed central deflector vane extending through the opening of said duct and a pair of upright side vanes disposed in spaced relation to said deflector vane and divergently related thereto in a forward direction away from said duct, the extension of said central vane within said opening at opposite limits of pivotal travel of said member forming a deflector wall angularly related to the adjacent side wall of said duct, the inner end of one of the upright side vanes at said limits of pivotal movement engaging the end of the opposing duct side wall, said central vane extending adjacent the front of said heater bottom wall for pivotal manipulation to deflect air from said duct in a plurality of angular directions.

4. A device for guiding the direction of a flow of air from the outlet end of a forced air discharge duct, said device comprising a wall panel extending forwardly from and laterally of the duct outlet at one side thereof, a panel in substantially parallel spaced relation thereto and extending forwardly from and laterally of the said duct outlet at the side thereof opposite said one side, a deflector vane member pivotally mounted between said panels on an axis at right angles thereto and centrally and forwardly of said duct outlet thereby forming a movable dividing wall extending between said panels, said deflector vane having an inner end projecting inwardly of the outlet end of the duct, means providing opposite limits of pivotal movement of said deflector vane, the said vane at each limit forming a wall between said panels angularly related to the direction of air flow from said outlet and extending outwardly from one of the sides of said duct outlet, said vane being adjustable for selectively directing an air flow laterally from between said panels at each side thereof and dividing said flow forwardly and laterally in the intermediate positions between said limits.

5. The structure of claim 4 in which a plate member is pivotally mounted on one of said panels and between the two panels and carries said deflector vane centrally thereon for pivotal movement therewith, said plate member having its lateral sides defined by a pair of forwardly extending upright flanged side vanes in spaced relation at opposite sides of said vane, said flanged vanes being divergently directed from the inner edges thereof, said inner vane edges being spaced from said duct outlet walls and the inner end of one of the flanged vanes at said limits of pivotal movement engaging the end of the opposing duct side wall and forming the means limiting pivotal movement of said deflector vane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,268,778 Schueder et a1. Jan. 6, 1942 2,457,818 Heiman Jan. 4, 1949 2,473,810 Miller June 21, 1949 

